


What Cards Have to Say

by orphan_account



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/F, I know nothing about cards, I'm sorry Yasha, One-Sided Attraction, Pining, Tarot, beaujester, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-30
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22484107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: « Hey Jester, lemme read your future. »One day, Molly offered to read Jester's cards.Though the reading given was grim, the end of it is much brighter.
Relationships: Caduceus Clay/Fjord, Fjord/Mollymauk Tealeaf, Jester Lavorre/Beauregard Lionett
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51





	What Cards Have to Say

« Hey Jester, lemme read your future. »

Jester blinks, looking up from her notebook, tongue out as she tickles her nose with her quill. Molly is grinning at her, cheeks a bit flustered.

Fjord and him will probably be in a sour mood the next morning, cursing every time the cart meets a bump on the path.

“Hmm?” She hums innocently, blinking as she doodles another flying dick hitting a bad guy like a saucy spiritual weapon. “My future? Only if it tells me how I marry Fjord~” She says, loud enough for Fjord to choke on his drink a few chairs away, spilling it all on Beau who yells and punches him in the arm.

The two troublemakers giggle, Molly snuggling against Jester like a cat, rubbing his cheek against hers which was a tricky business when one had horns.

“Now now, don’t break my heart like that- are you telling me sharing my bed with him doesn’t mean I’ll be the one marrying him?”

“We have two different beds, Molly!” Come Fjord’s response, and Molly winks at him, making the Half-Orc mutters about damn Tieflings, cheeks dark. Satisfied, Molly turns his attention back to Jester. “So? I won’t make you pay this time.” He says, getting his deck out of his many pockets.

Jester is not hard to tempt, curious as a cat when it came to Molly’s totally definitely not bullshit game. And thus she puts her note book aside, crossing her legs on the bench as she sits face to face with him, eyes shining with interest.

“Aw, how cute.” Molly chuckles, poking her nose before taking a serious expression. “Now, cards are sometimes tricky. The meaning behind them isn’t always to take literally. Open your senses to their power, see beyond their names and meaning.” He says, voice dropping low, the candles surrounding them now dimmer to set the scene right.

Jester can’t help but shivers, leaning closer.

“Now, I will ask you to think of what you want to ask the cards. But you have to keep it in your mind- it will works better with a bit of mystery.”

“A detective always likes mystery, Molly.” Jester agrees, though already planning to tell Beau aaaall about it as soon as the lot of them are back to their respective room. She closes her eyes, wonder if she should ask about the Traveller- was she his favourite? She had to be, right?

A low, familiar chuckle echoes in her mind and she finds herself beaming with pride. Yes, she definitely was his favourite.

She considers asking the cards about Fjord- but… she looks at Beau. The human is currently shooting “shots!” at Fjord, Nott pushing tiny glasses after tiny glasses in front of him.

Beau was… the closest she’s ever been to someone. Her first best friend. Sure, she totally wanted to marry Fjord, but…

I want to know about my future with Beau, she thinks, hands clenching around her symbol of the Traveller.

“Good?”

“Good.”

“Ok,” Molly said, a grin on his face. “Now, I will ask you to pull out three cards- each one an answer to your question- a guideline of sort. Always keep thinking about the question. Alright?”

“Alright.”

And with a certain nervousness she doesn’t quite expect, Jester pulls out three cards.

* * *

“Jester?”

Blinking, Jester grunts and looks up, the blurry face of Yasha coming to view, her long hair tickling her nose. Ah, Yasha truly was pretty. She feels something rolling down her cheek- and realises with a start she had been crying in her sleep.

Sniffing, she sits up and rubs her eyes, apologising to Yasha.

“It’s nothing, I’m allergic to grass-“ She tries to humour her but her friend gives her a knowing smile.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I just…I was worried.”

“Aw, Yasha, you’re so nice!” Jester says, pulling her into a hug with a huge, forced smile- before hugging her tighter, knowing the Barbarian was strong enough to take it. (Caduceus, on the other hand, had almost broken into two and she had been more cautious after hearing his bones cracks).

As if reacting to her thoughts, the Firbolg snores loudly, making her giggle. Grunting in his sleep, Fjord rolls closer to him, muttering as he hugs him tight. Nobody mentioned it when morning came- aside from Nott- but all could tell the comfort Melora’s cleric brought him.

Following her gaze, Yasha tilts her head.

“Are you ok with it?” She asks and Jester blinks, surprised.

“Oh, yeah, totally! I mean, I don’t- Fjord is handsome and charming and a super cool captain- but I don’t love love him anymore. Not like that.” She says, though her expression sobers up as she remembers her dream and the dread it brought her.

“I see.” Yasha said, nodding before looking up at the sky again.

She was probably thinking about the lack of storm, Jester suspects. Or maybe she, too, thought the stars were pretty, like Beau’s-

She feels a tug in her chest. There is a question she wants to ask, but she remembers the first card she pulled and what Molly had read; betrayal, loss of friendship. Yasha is her friend. What if…

“Jester? You’re staring.” Yasha says, scratching her cheek as she looks down at Jester with a slightly wary frown. “Do I smell…?”

“Wh- no no no! No!” Jester gasps loudly, getting a sleepy grunt from Nott. “No, Yasha, you smell like-“ She takes a deep breath, tries not to grimace, “like a traveller! And I totally love travellers. Especially The Travellerrrrr-“ She says, raising her hands to the sky.

Yasha smiles softly at the dramatic display and a moment of silence pass between them, only broken by the sounds of the wildlife around them and the cracking of the fire.

Tossing a bit of wood into it, Jester bites her lips.

“Say, Yasha… you love Beau, right?” She asks, glancing at the Barbarian’s face. Yasha’s eyes grow wide, and a few emotions can be seen through them: surprise, embarrassment, guilt- “You don’t have to answer me! I know it’s like, super personal-“

“Do you love her, Jester?”

Jester freezes, grip tightening on the twig she was going to throw into the flames to the point of breaking it in two. She feels too warm, too cold, forgetting how to breath for a second that feels like an hour.

“I-I mean, of course I love Beau! She is like, my best friend, you know? And like, she’s super cool-“

“You know what I mean, Jester.” Yasha says patiently, but Jester can’t bring herself to look at her.

Molly’s cards were right. It feels like a betrayal, to have Yasha of all people realise her feelings for the rowdy Monk. Jester’s chest feels too tight to breath properly. She opens her mouth- and closes it.

“You’re totally Beau’s type, Yasha. You’re so tall and so strong and so cool and sexy.” She says instead.

“Jester-“

“And it’s ok! I mean, I don’t like, think Beau likes me like that at all. And like, I totally don’t-“

“Jester-“ Yasha tries again but already, Jester is laying back again, back turns to the Barbarian as she yawns loudly.

“Ah, sorry, I’m gonna sleep a bit longer. But don’t forget to wake up Fjord for the next turn, you need sleep, too! Goodnight, Yasha.” And she quickly hides her head under the blanket, doing her best to silent her tears into her pillow.

“...Goodnight, Jester.”

* * *

“I bet you five gold pieces you won’t kiss Jester.”

Jester feels her hand tightening on the glasses of milk she was holding.

Everybody at their table has gone quiet, looking at Nott in various states of horror, annoyance and interest. They are sitting at the Xhoraus, celebrating a minor victory after helping Essik clears out a quarrel with another Den.

Naturally, the more the lot of them drank, the sillier the games and betting became.

And for Nott to come up with this one, well, it wasn’t surprising per say but-

“Nott!” Jester shouts, frowning at the Goblin.

“What? She won’t do it!” Nott says, voice somewhat blurred by the alcohol as she turns to wave her glass at Beau, spilling its content all over Fjord who yells and hurrily stands up, looking for a towel, Caduceus going after him for some help.

Caleb tries to reason Nott, while looking at Beau who is coughing after swallowing her own drink the wrong way, Yasha awkwardly patting her back, only making it worse.

“Don’t bet on things like that. I don’t want Beau to do something she doesn’t want to.” Jester says, feeling more upset than usual.

“Well, then bet that she will do it! So now she has the choice!” Nott says, pointing a clawed finger at Jester. “She will if she isn’t a coward!” She says, turning to Beau.

Jester catches Yasha’s expression, and feels her chest clench. It seemed extremely rude of Nott to do that, when they both knew Beau had rejected Yasha’s feelings a few days ago, as privately and kindly as possible.

And yet…

She wished Beau hadn’t seemed so shocked. Wasn’t yelling at Nott to drop it. Wasn’t oh so bothered by the idea of kissing her, when she had been kissing so many girls-

Jester stands abruptly, and run to her bedroom, slamming the door close. Something falls off her pocket as she does-

Molly’s cards.

She remembers then , even after all this time, what Molly’s second card had read: the loss of money due to a trusted one’s action. Ah, she did lose five gold pieces since Beau hadn’t kissed her-

She picks the deck and is ready to throw it away- before bursting into tears, holding it tightly against her chest.

Oh, Molly. If only he knew the chaos he left in her heart, that night.

* * *

“What did the last card say?”

Jester looks at her mother through the mirror of her boudoir, the Ruby sitting behind her as she combs her daughter’s hair.

“Oh, they are so long now, my Sapphire...” Marion muses, kissing the top of Jester’s head. “You said you picked up three cards. What about the last one?”

“Oh, you know, how I will feel miserable and unloved and let myself perish in anguish-“ Jester says, dramatically bringing a hand to her chest. “Well, it just said it would end with misery. But you know, technically, it’s the same-“

“Oh, Jester.” Marion says, hugging her daughter close.

“It’s ok, mama. It was true after all.” Jester says, nuzzling against the Ruby, enjoying the comfort of her mother’s embrace. “Because, like, I got so miserable, I ended up crying and telling ev-ery-thing to Beau, and you know, she like, actually loved me, too!” Jester says, beaming. “And like, of course she was like, all awkward about it but like, I cupped her face and kissed her, and our teeth clattered and it was like, super different from my books and from your stories mama- but I actually loved it better like that.”

“I’m glad, Jester.” Marion chuckles, hugging her close as someone knocks at the door before it opens.

“Hey Jess, I was wondering if- oh, hey.” Beau says, awkwardly rubbing her neck and chuckling as she realises Jester is not alone. “Hi, I, ah, can pass by later if you-“

“I was just about to leave.” Marion says, kissing Jester’s cheeks and standing up. “You two take your time, I will see you at dinner.”

As she makes to leave, she stops and touch Beauregard’s shoulder.

“Please, take care of my precious Sapphire. Or I assure you, my threat was not to take lightly the first time.” She says and Beau starts to stutters but the Tiefling’s expression soften and she kisses the human’s cheek as well before closing the door behind her.

“Well, I think your mum likes me.” Beau says and Jester puffs her cheeks.

“Are you trying to hit on my mum when I’m right here?” She says, pretending to be offended and Beau’s eyes shine as she steps closer and takes the now vacant seat, patting Jester’s cheek before kissing her forehead.

“Of course not. She’s hot but like, not falling-in-love-with-her hot. Like, you’re the only one that’s that hot, you know?...Gods, I suck at romance, sorry.” Beau mutters, cheeks flustered.

Laughing, Jester cups her cheeks and pull her into a loud smooch that have them both giggling.

“It’s ok. I love your very good kind of romance.”

* * *

“You know, like, I think your cards are like, super realistic, Molly.” Jester says, sitting on her bed as she works on finishing the deck of cards Molly never got to draw completely. “Look, adding a dick right here- pretty sure nobody will see it-“ She mutters, hiding the silly doodle in a flower.

She can hears the party going on downstairs, celebrating the safe return of Caduceus’ family. It’s all a bit rowdy, and it’s a real surprise to see how different he gets around the rest of them, but the change is quite welcomed.

“I think your cards really wanted me to date Beau. And I think I really wanted to, even if I didn’t know it then. Or maybe I did, because I’m like, super smart.” She says, imagining Molly laughing as she does. “I miss you. I hope one day, I’ll get to read those cards to you.”

And in the quietness of her room, Jester could swear she heard a family chuckle and a brush of fingers ruffling her hair.

**Author's Note:**

> Aaaah, I haven't written in so long, It was good to actually do it! I had this idea since...October after a friend of a friend tried to read me the cards. Needless to say, it was quite grim but considering she wasn't quite sure how to use it yet, I didn't took it too hard. Besides, I started dating my partner soon after, and I've been doing just fine since then <3


End file.
